pp. Out of your class of 90? When did you graduate, 1967? I don't think you have ever stepped foot in the school.

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell – I learned (the hard way) that Sidwell is a school that students attend because their parents want them there for a variety of reasons (some valid, some selfish) – Sidwell is not a school where the children want to be. It is tragic to see a child’s youth sacrificed on the altar of parental ambition. Most of those kids are not happy.

Graduate here. I would agree with this. Many of the kids I knew were mindlessly driven forward by their parents expectations. Out of my class of 90, 7 or so cracked to pieces within a year or so of graduating. As adults the # grows each year. You could say the school self-selects the emotionally fragile, but either way, it is a school that wraps itself in the shield of passivity (pacifism, self sacrifice) yet, demands that its student kneel at an altar of cultural elitism. It was a confusing, ego smashing sort of place to spend ones adolescence.

Ok. Sidwell has high expectations. I disagree with the pp who said that the lower school is ``low key.'' It's not low key. Expectations are very high. That said, it's also not accurate to say that kids are there because of their parents social ambitions. The kids are goofy,rambunctious and silly . My view is that the school is designed to teach deeply at an accelerated pace. Of course, kids who can't keep up are going to be stressed. And guess what? Some kids are better off elsewhere.

I believe you when you say that your child was stressed in second grade, but I am surprised. Like I said, it isn't right for everyone, but your experience isn't the norm. The lower school is a pretty low key place. In fact, if anything, the complaint I have heard is that it isn't rigorous enough in the lower school. It does get more intense later.

Pulled my kid out of Sidwell after 2nd grade. It was a nightmare. So many other schools are stronger socially and academically, but parents are forcing their kids through the "machine" bcuz its the school for the elite. But I saw a bunch of stressed out and sad children. So glad we left.

It may not be the best fit for every student, but my kids love it--and they have been to another school.